1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tube connector for an assembly toy, and more particularly, to a tube connector for an assembly toy, which includes a semispherical or cylindrical body having horizontal surfaces defined at opposite end surfaces thereof, a hole perforated through the center of the body perpendicular to the horizontal surfaces, and at least one coupling rib integrally formed around the body at the level of any one of the horizontal surfaces, wherein a portion of the coupling rib corresponding to half the thickness of the coupling rib protrudes outward from the horizontal plane provided with the coupling rib, and the coupling rib takes the form of a bar and is configured to allow a tube to be inserted thereon.
In addition, the present invention relates to a tube connector for an assembly toy, which includes a semispherical body having a horizontal bottom surface, a hole perforated in the center of the semispherical body perpendicular to the bottom surface, and at least one insertion groove and at least one coupling hole, wherein an insert of a coupling rib is fixedly inserted through the insertion groove or the coupling hole.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, there are provided a variety of shapes of assembly toys taking the form of assembly blocks, tubes, magnets, and the like. In the case of assembly blocks, such as, for example, those under the trade name LEGO″, each block has a coupling protrusion and a coupling recess, thus enabling assembly of plural blocks without separate connectors. However, an assembly toy consisting of tubes has a need for a connector for connecting and fixing tubes to each other.
Conventionally, a connector used for tube assembly has been formed with a plurality of coupling ribs, to which tubes are coupled. For easy coupling of a plurality of tubes, the coupling ribs of the conventional connector only have, e.g., a linear or cross-shaped arrangement providing a predetermined angular tube arrangement. Also, the coupling rib has a fixed shape and therefore, is usable at only a specific part corresponding to the shape of the coupling rib. Thus, an additional connector is necessary when it is desired to change a coupling angle between tubes. Although a method for adjusting a coupling angle between tubes by overlapping a plurality of the linear or cross-shaped connectors to diversify an angle defined by the coupling ribs has been used, this method unfavorably increases a thickness of a body of the connector. Furthermore, as the coupling ribs of the coupled connectors are located at different heights rather than being located on the same plane, it may be difficult for a user to assemble a desired three-dimensional toy.